nine a quarter p.m. in the french capital. i am tom burges watson. these are the top stories. remembering the greatest. this is the scene in louisville, kentucky, the hometown of boxing legend muhammad ali, where an interfaith memorial service is getting underway. ,ick in the french capital european football championships getting underway right now with host france taking on romania from the edge of paris.

tom: we begin in louisville, where an interfaith memorial service is being held for muhammad ali. thousands of people have descended on this, the boxing legend's hometown, where the hearse carrying his final body made its journey through the streets before he is buried in a private ceremony. at today's memorial, getting underway as we speak, hundreds of celebrities and dignitaries are in attendance, amongst them former president bill clinton, the comedian billy crystal -- both of those men will be delivering eulogies, amongst others, with veteran tv journalist bryant gumbel. died last friday after a long battle with parkinson's disease. he was 74 years old. here with us in the studio we have a former sports journalist, writer have with us a

and journalist, and a filmmaker from kentucky who is also a personal friend of muhammad ali, and our international affairs commentator doug herbert. thank you all very much indeed for joining us. the service we have been waiting for all evening is getting underway. we will take you there as soon as we can listen to some of the eulogies. let me start by speaking to you, michael. you are from the very same state -- >> i grew up 30 miles from louisville. tom: right, so you know this area and you knew, more portly, the man in question. you knew muhammad ali and he spent a considerable amount of time with him. >> grew up in his shadow, let's not forget about that. nobody whoa kid, grew up in kentucky could not be us clay, andsi especially if you were in my age

clay, in all of cassius especially when he became more of a contentious person. foughtet him after he his last fight in the ring. i met him in 1988 because we were both interested in africa and i was doing a project, big project in africa, and i went to ask his help in this in a way. very quickly we got along quite well. was thepart of it relationship to the relationship to africa but part of it was he of his lifeiod where it had been a while since he had been in the limelight for boxing, and it was still a while before he would become considered affectionately by the world, partially because of their empathy for his parkinson's. it was this another world in terms of the outside world and very few people were coming to visit him and he was there on a private visit with his mother. i was there every day practically and we would go on walks together.

one thing i can say about , a person who never complained about anything and never talked about the past in nostalgic terms. one time we went on a walk and he made a little poem, because he cannot walk very well because he had parkinson's, the beginning of parkinson's. train 10i used to miles in the rain, and it gave me pain. today i walk a while and it gives me a smile." [laughter] tom: we can look at pictures of you with muhammad ali. great to see those pictures of you, michael, with muhammad ali. we will bring them up as soon as we get them. you went on a lot of walks with muhammad ali. tell me about what sorts of things you actually -- there you are, there is the picture we've

been waiting for. back in 1988. michael: saw him several times but those were the most intimate moments. tom: what did you typically talk about on the long walk? michael: he loved to talk about -- he loved to talk about islam, that's for sure. but at that point he was no longer a militant. he was no longer in the nation of islam. you had transition that she had transition to -- he had transition to a more mainstream sunni version of islam. later he would convert to sufism. ali was never aggressive about promoting islam. what he would often say is if god made us with all these differences, that means there is some bit of truth whether it is in islam or buddhism christianity or judaism. what he said islam was for the oppressed from he used to say that.

we would talk also about africa, of course. .e would talk about his boxing i asked him one time if he considered himself the greatest boxer of all time. the pass wasr as concerned, yes, but he wasn't sure he could beat mike tyson. mike tyson was the murderer in the ring, he called him. >> have they asked mike tyson? tom: i don't think he would've dared answer. we will cross to louisville, kentucky and our correspondent philip crowther standing by for us to apparently we are not crossing over to philip crowther just yet. let me pick up on the points michael was making with you. we talked a lot about what a spiritual man muhammad ali was, and i clearly was a huge part of his persona. >> yeah, and the nation of

islam. we cannot forget how controversial the nation of islam was from especially when muhammad ali converted in 1964. it is striking to see photos of malcolm x and muhammad ali. malcolm x. discovered the broader islam once he might to mecca. the nation of islam founded by elijah mohammed is an american sect with the separatist ideology. when malcolm x. went to mecca come he saw the broader islam, saul that all white people were not evil. he went back to america and was preaching the news long and was in effect next to me -- preaching the new islam and was in effect excommunicate it from the nation of islam. he was cut off from muhammad ali. after the death of malcolm x, muhammad ali became the public face of the nation of islam, much more than elijah mohammed. interesting that as time went on, ali also embraced the

broader islam and went away from the nation of islam. but the faith was absolutely there. e, it was said in zair part of what fueled his desire to win and his moral conviction that what he was doing was right. she said something interesting to me about this just now. >> right, muhammad ali was driven to win because he wanted to uplift american people. he said the american black man could in 1974, right before the rumble in the jungle, he was interviewed and he said "god gave me this strength of power to be the number one entertainer in the world to be the number one half in the world, to win whip this, to wit -- man --" foreman. tom: and use boxing as a vehicle. nita: he realize that being the

victor meant he had more cachet he could use. viewers, to remind our you also spent time with muhammad ali. it is not just michael who spent time with him. that i sawhe view both of you. -- both of you, what sort of difference there was between the private and public persona. personaknow the public better than the private persona, although i did spend four days with him. muhammad ali still had his mental aptitude when i knew him in 1990. i was in the entourage with the boxing group in huntington, west virginia, for the golden globes event. because i spent so much time with muhammad ali, he flirted with me throughout the four days. finally i said to him, "are you married?"he said, " my wife is married." [laughter]

nita: so in other words from that is who he was away from the public and in private he was saying, "yes, my wife is married." tom: i see. [laughter] michael, did you ever have a mismatch -- michael: he never flirted with me. it is an interesting question because i would hesitate to say that humility and kindness did not exist when he was boxing champion. it was well known, for example, that he would sign autographs for anybody even when he was a champion. there was a lot of showmanship and need to make money. let's not forget that ali was oftentimes very much in need of money. let's not forget, either, that he gave up 3.5 years of his boxing career out of the conviction that he shouldn't fight in vietnam. i think there is a story i can give you, a quick one, that might give you a hint as to the

playfulness, spontaneity that existed in his private life that i think is kind of spilled over into his professional life. one day i was in my hometown in kentucky, which, as i said, was 30 miles away, and ali gives me a call. "brother michael, i'm going to drive down and i want you to fix me dinner." he didn't stop there. "i want you to call them get all the kids in your front yard and i want to meet them." he was interested in meeting the children. coming down in two hours. how was i going to get all the kids? i get the kids on bikes and i said tell everybody muhammad ali is coming. after about an hour they start showing up. we had about 300 kids went ali pulled up in his winnebago. he loved riding around in this i've recovered winnebago. -- ivory-covered winnebago.

he took people in rights from he really enjoyed it. he gets out of the winnebago and all the kids should back like there is some sort of divine apparition taking place. ali starts doing these magic tricks. he starts making handkerchiefs disappear, reappear, change colors. i think his connection with people was right there. he knew even without being to speak because he couldn't speak farewell at that point, he knew how to connect with people. tom: sure. let me take our viewers to louisville, kentucky, for just a moment. we are hearing the imam making the opening address. let's listen as the memorial service gets underway. >> this midtown mosque in memphis, tennessee, where he is spearheading our neighborhood renewal effort in one of the most blighted neighborhoods in memphis, and that effort is centered around the mosque, one

of the few african-american university, hee will share with us a few verses from the koran. ladies and gentlemen -- tom: ok, we've been listening to the opening reading by the imam at the ceremony gets underway in louisville, kentucky. just before we heard him we saw the former u.s. president bill clinton arriving there. let me turn to you, our international affairs commentator, because extraordinary to think that a former president is there to deliver a eulogy. we are talking about a man who was by no means always the darling of the american political status. note was loved and hated -- in equal measure. he was loved by a lot of americans early on. the turning point, especially the conservative white establishment of america in a certain period -- the vietnam

war and his principled opposition to it -- taking the moral stance, showing up at the military induction and basically saying right in the face of the inducting officer "i will not go, i ain't got no problem with those viet cong." at first it drew a visceral response from america, not a positive one, from a lot of people. yes, you had an element of the liberal opposition, so to speak, who saw it as an active noble defiance. you had, you could say, perhaps a larger share of americans in that era saw it as a very unpatriotic act, saw it as anathema, saw it as a threat to the establishment and the order. the turning point really came when the type term -- tight turned against this public opinion against vietnam. bill clinton is making the operation and he got to the white house in 1975i believe, gerald ford -- tom: he was a guest --

douglas: he shook hands with gerald ford, guest of honor. but he had come a long way and that was the coronation, the capstone of the turn in opinion. that is when this veneration that we see today that we all take for granted. he is this planetary icon. of course, it is muhammad ali. that was not always an article of faith. >> and it is fascinating how the country in a way caught up with ali, first on vietnam, but then there was the story -- michael, maybe you could clarify this -- that after he return to kentucky 1960, after the one the olympic medal in rome, he was not served in a restaurant and through the metal into the ohio river. --ael: parker apocryphal. jake: is that true? michael: it is true that he was not served. but he lost his metal. jake: they gave him a new one.

michael: it is a great story. kentuckians know the real story. li never claimed that himself. jake: ok. to seet's take you back what is happening in louisville, kentucky. the memorial service is getting underway now. we are expecting to hear speakers from other religions. we have presented this of several religions -- representatives of several religions there could the ceremony getting started with readings from the koran and islamic players. we will process soon as we have more from you from there. we are expecting to hear from former u.s. president bill clinton as well. let me turn to you, nita, because we were saying a little earlier on that you got to note muhammad ali when he was still alive. what did you feel having spent time with him? what was your reaction last

friday when you found out someone you spend time with and had admired for menus, no doubt, had died? nita: i was hit harder than i thought i would be because i had seen his deterioration, as we all had seen for a number of years, and i knew the day would come where muhammad ali would not be amongst us. i was hit harder than i would .ave thought because for me, growing up in augusta, georgia, a little town in the southern united states, ali was someone we all knew. we thought he was part of our family. in a way, as a southerner, he was a part of my family. until i really met him in 1990, i didn't know the man the high that image -- the man behind that image. but when i heard the man was gone, it was emotional. i have not shed a tear because -- we are going to, but

are all going to leave, but muhammad ali leaves a legacy that improves the lives of so many people. i am not sad about the passing although it did affect me that one of the good people is not with us. tom: well, let's talk about muhammad ali's fighting career, because 2 of his fights, almost certainly never forgotten, took place almost exactly within a year of each other. in thriller in manila fight october 1975. the other a year earlier, the so-called rumble in the jungle with george foreman in what was then zaire. ali won both fights. we go to the stadium where that fight took place. ago,re than 40 years muhammad ali made his entrance in this stadium to fight george foreman. those lucky enough to witness the legendary showdown still remember every detail. >> when ali was in the ring

everyone supported him. the whole stadium was alive shouting 'ali." it was insane. when the eighth round started in less than a minute, ali took for him down with 1 -- took foreman down with one hope, and that is when the party started. >> muhammad ali's stay in mobutu's zaire was short but the champion made an impression. inspired us all. it was the fight of the century. >> today, boxing is as popular as ever in kinshasa. at the entrance of the stadium, many kids train at the muhammad ali i had boxing club. the fighter remains an iconic sporting influence.

>> boxes are upset because we lost muhammad ali. i want to become like muhammad ali. i train. i'm applying myself. thatmost 42 years on since october night when muhammad ali won by a knockout in the congolese capital, many are mourning his loss. kinshasa hosted the fight of his life, and even after his death, the shouts echoed across the decades. tom: that was, of course, the scene of the rumble in the jungle, a fight that will deftly go down in history. with us in the studio, people who knew muhammad ali, people who met muhammad ali. michael, film maker from the same part of the world as muhammad ali, kentucky. you had a little anecdote you wanted to share with us on that fight.

michael: it was actually, talking about his fighting career, i think one thing the rumble in the jungle gave to the world was the idea that africa could put on a big event. something we didn't know before. it was very much talked about at that particular point. ali was very cognizant of that because he kept adding to the fact that africans were ,ontributing to his own renown and also they were backing him with the chants. but the anecdote i wanted to tell you has to do with ali's real left fight, because this is something i was part of. six years after his last professional fight, ali, as i said before, was sort of suffering from parkinson's, but he was invited to go to downtown louisville to an event, fundraising event for our proposed muhammad ali museum.

inside the museum was a spanking brand-new boxing ring that was just waiting to be initiated with the crowd around it. also in that circumstance there was this kid from the university of louisville on the boxing team and the kid started bothering ali saying "i could whip you." i think ali wanted to give him a lesson, because i was kind of embarrassed for him. he said "where are the boxing gloves?" we had a referee that was retired, and this kid and ali state in the ring for two minutes. the kid tried to hit him. ali parry every thrust. still nimble with his hands could and then he hit him -- it could not have been very hard in the stomach -- and the kid throws up his arms and says "i quit!" [laughter] he got out and turned to me and

said "michael, i will never get in the ring again. that is another period in my life." tom: he ended his boxing career and is being warned in louisville, kentucky. he is being mourned everywhere. literally being mourned everywhere. when people describe him as a citizen of the world, as michael did in an article, that is true and very unusual in this current world. nita: i was checking to see where muhammad ali had traveled. i found out he had went to australia and bangladesh. the panel probably knows about these travels. he said he wanted to go to australia to meet aboriginal people and he wanted to go to bangladesh because that part of the world was unknown to him. he started in kentucky but his vision was no one kentucky -- was beyond kentucky. because he traveled so extensively come he took the vision of black americans

farther than most of us had thought. he opened the windows and doors for us in a way that was just remarkable. and he knew he was doing it. >> no doubt there is only two period that that influenced the advancement of african-americans the most was muhammad ali and melissa king. -- martin luther king. nita: and his daughters say they knew that his father was everybody's. tom: they said they knew at an early age that he was their daddy but they had to show him the rest of the world. -- share him with the rest of the world. we have the scene in louisville, kentucky. representatives of different faiths in the memorial service. we will go back to it when the eulogies begin. we expect that to happen very shortly. we are following another major story here on "france 24" this

evening, closer to home. the european football championships have just kicked off this evening, 25 minutes ago or so, with host france playing romania. just a few kilometers away from here. 24 are vying for the trophy. the figures will be decided at more than 50 different games and the final will take place in the same stadium on sunday, 10th of july. it comes at a tense time for france. the country has been gripped by weeks of industrial unrest and the worst flooding in decades. it also comes at a time of heightened terror alert. let's look at the security arrangements that have been put in place. reporter: this is a police drill. attack.mock gun france, more than 7 million people are expected to bigh the games for free in

screens and designated fan zones. paris's townhall has rejected calls to cancel the biggest and most prestigious one, the foot of the eiffel tower. isis to income we just have to cancel it -- to win, we just have to cancel it. reporter: emergency workers are being mobilized nationwide. on top of that, 12,000 private security guards have been hired and the government has a terror alert smartphone app in french and english. >> if you activate your location or choose the regional area you want to be informed about, this will enable you to see alerts about incidents. reporter: since the november 13 attacks, locals and parents have gotten used to a heavy police presence in the streets. for the euros, security has been tightened even more. context, iparticular think these measures are

necessary. lots of police officers have been deployed and for me it looks like an adequate response. >> they are working very hard to keep the streets safe. we have seen many police and

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